Ethiel Garlington, executive director of the Historic Macon Foundation since 2014, is leaving that post at the end of August.

Garlington will become the second executive director of The 1772 Foundation, a leading national preservation philanthropy, on Sept 18.

HMF’s Executive Committee has appointed a search committee that will work closely with the staff, the Board of Trustees and community stakeholders to manage the search process and identify the organization’s next executive director. 

“Ethiel has been a tremendous asset for the Historic Macon Foundation, and his contributions to preservation and revitalization in Macon will have a lasting impact for years to come,” HMF board Chair Andy Moore said. “Under his leadership, HMF has grown significantly and gained national recognition. We are fortunate to have enjoyed his long tenure, and the board will be working closely with him as we look to hire a new executive director and continue the positive momentum.”

Garlington moved to Macon from Knoxville, Tenn., in March 2014. Demolition began on Tremont Temple Baptist Church on Garlington’s first day on the job. Soon thereafter the same developers targeted the former home of Black entrepreneur Charles Douglass. Despite late efforts to save each one, both were razed.

That preservation setback, however, ignited what is now a signature Historic Macon initiative: Macon’s Fading Five, which calls attention to significant structures across Macon in danger of being lost due to demolition or neglect. The Fading Five program boasts a remarkable “save rate” and was instrumental in the $12 million Alexander IV Senior Living project and the Robert Train Center, now home of Bibb County’s Cooperative Extension Office. 

That was just one of Historic Macon’s significant accomplishments during Garlington’s tenure. The organization's scope of work and operating budget have grown rapidly under his leadership. 

HMF moved its office out of the former Sidney Lanier Cottage in 2017, and the organization’s Board of Trustees later approved its sale as a single family residence, using the proceeds to endow the Lanier Education Endowment at the Community Foundation of Central Georgia. The fund covers a full-time education coordinator position at HMF. 

The foundation boosted its work in the Beall’s Hill neighborhood with a $3 million investment in 2014 from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The neighborhood, adjacent to Mercer University, is the most racially diverse in the state. HMF just completed the construction of 12 affordable apartments with a new revolving fund.

“Ethiel has been an amazing leader for Historic Macon and for the entire Macon community,” Mercer President William Underwood said. “Under his leadership, Beall’s Hill has become perhaps the pre-eminent national example of how to successfully revitalize a historic neighborhood. Thankfully, Ethiel and his family will remain in Macon as a resource to our community.”

In 2018, the National Trust for Historic Preservation awarded Historic Macon its Trustees’ Award for Organizational Excellence.

Last year, HMF moved into the old Fire Hall No. 4 — the oldest masonry fire station in Georgia — after its rehabilitation. That project recently won the Chairman's Award for Excellence in Rehabilitation from the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation.

Historic Macon has also been instrumental in improvements to east Macon’s North Highlands neighborhood, including a new park, two historic rehabilitation housing projects and a new affordable duplex that is under construction.

Garlington and his wife, Michelle, and their two children, Conway and Alice, will continue to live in Macon when he begins his work for The 1772 Foundation. It plays a prominent role in promoting historic preservation nationwide, helping ensure the safe passage of historic buildings and farmland to future generations.

“Serving as the executive director of Historic Macon has been an incredible honor and responsibility,” Garlington said. “When Michelle and I moved to Macon, we could never have imagined how it would change our lives. We love this community and are grateful to be able to stay in Macon as I look to the next chapter of my preservation career. I am proud of the work that the staff and board have accomplished while I was there and look forward to the organization continuing to flourish under new leadership.”  

The deadline for HMF executive director applications is June 23 at noon.  The full job description and information is available at www.historicmacon.org. Any inquiries should be sent to Hanbury Preservation Consulting, which is managing the search process.